Bitcoin has managed to rise above the $64,000 mark, gaining over 1% on the day, and stands out as the only major cryptocurrency to post a significant daily increase while the majority of others experienced declines.
Ether dipped slightly by 0.5% to just below $1,900, though it still maintains nearly a 1% gain for the week. XRP fell more than 1% to just under $1, marking a weekly decrease of over 2%, making it the weakest performer among the larger tokens. Dogecoin saw a nearly 0.5% drop to 7 cents, while BNB and Tron also recorded minor declines to just above $600 and 33 cents, respectively. Solana remained stable at just under $76.
Among the smaller cryptocurrencies, Hyperliquid's HYPE stood out with an increase of nearly 1% to just over $59, yielding a remarkable 7.5% gain over the past week, marking it as the strongest performer in that timeframe.
According to Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, Bitcoin has now spent four consecutive days trading below its 50-day moving average following a previous attempt to surpass it. It also remains beneath its 200-week moving average, which suggests that sellers are dominating both medium- and long-term trends. He noted that the situation is unlikely to change until Bitcoin moves out of its current range of $62,000 to $65,000.
In the mining sector, publicly traded Bitcoin miners have reduced their collective computing power by 21% over the past three quarters, reallocating resources towards artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives. This shift is attributed to challenging mining economics and rising competition from the AI industry for both capital and energy resources.
Venice, an AI platform established by crypto entrepreneur Erik Voorhees, announced it has surpassed $100 million in annualized revenue, resulting in a 10% increase in its VVV token, which is now priced around $13.30.
In broader market news, oil prices have surged, with Brent crude surpassing $91 per barrel after President Donald Trump indicated he would not extend an existing agreement with Iran, coupled with escalating conflicts in Lebanon. This development has raised concerns in the bond and stock markets amidst renewed inflation fears.
Asian bonds followed U.S. Treasuries downwards due to worries about government finances, with the rising energy prices exacerbating concerns about potential inflation increases. Consequently, both stocks and futures have declined.